Method and system for visually-biased sensory-enhanced e-reading

ABSTRACT

A method of synchronizing visual enhancement with e-reading content is provided. The method includes tracking eye movement of a user of an e-reader, providing a pre-defined visual indicator embedded within a portion of a story presented on the e-reader and responsive to the eye movement of the user being correlated with the pre-defined visual indicator, displaying an image which is associated with the portion of the story presented on the e-reader.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/533,890, filed on Nov. 5, 2014, entitled “PROVIDING A SCENT WHILEA USER INTERACTS WITH AN ELECTRONIC MEDIA PROVIDING DEVICE,” by Liu etal., having Attorney Docket No. KOBO-3012, and assigned to the assigneeof the present application and hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/533,700, filed on Nov. 5, 2014, entitled “OPERATING AN ELECTRONICPERSONAL DISPLAY USING EYE MOVEMENT TRACKING,” by Liu, having AttorneyDocket No. KOBO-3013, and assigned to the assignee of the presentapplication and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/553,522, filed on Nov. 25, 2014, entitled “AUDIO IN SYNCHRONIZEDOPERATION WITH E-READING CONTENT,” by Flawn et al., having AttorneyDocket No. KOBO-3030, and assigned to the assignee of the presentapplication and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. ______, filed on ______, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FORTACTILE-BIASED SENSORY-ENHANCED E-READING,” by Landau et al., havingAttorney Docket No. KOBO-3040, and assigned to the assignee of thepresent application and hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. ______, filed on ______, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FORCUSTOMIZABLE MULTI-LAYERED SENSORY-ENHANCED E-READING INTERFACE,” byFlawn et al., having Attorney Docket No. KOBO-3042, and assigned to theassignee of the present application and hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Examples described herein relate to a system and method forvisually-biased sensory-enhanced e-Reading.

BACKGROUND

An electronic personal display is a mobile computing device thatdisplays information to a user. While an electronic personal display maybe capable of many of the functions of a personal computer, a user cantypically interact directly with an electronic personal display withoutthe use of a keyboard that is separate from, or coupled to, but distinctfrom the electronic personal display itself. Some examples of electronicpersonal displays include mobile digital devices/tablet computers andelectronic readers (e-readers) such (e.g., Apple iPad®, Microsoft®Surface™, Samsung Galaxy Tab® and the like), handheld multimediasmartphones (e.g., Apple iPhone®, Samsung Galaxy S®, and the like), andhandheld electronic readers (e.g., Amazon Kindle®, Barnes and NobleNook®, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo GLO and the like).

Some electronic personal display devices are purpose built devicesdesigned to perform especially well at displaying digitally storedcontent for reading or viewing thereon. For example, a purpose builddevice may include a display that reduces glare, performs well in highlighting conditions, and/or mimics the look of text as presented viaactual discrete pages of paper. While such purpose built devices mayexcel at displaying content for a user to read, they may also performother functions, such as displaying images, emitting audio, recordingaudio, and web surfing, among others.

Electronic personal displays are among numerous kinds of consumerdevices that can receive services and utilize resources across a networkservice. Such devices can operate applications or provide otherfunctionality that links a device to a particular account of a specificservice. For example, the electronic reader (e-reader) devices typicallylink to an online bookstore, and media playback devices often includeapplications that enable the user to access an online media electroniclibrary (or e-library). In this context, the user accounts can enablethe user to receive the full benefit and functionality of the device.

Yet further, such devices may incorporate a touch screen display havingintegrated touch sensors and touch sensing functionality, whereby userinput commands via touch-based gestures are received thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthis specification, illustrate various embodiments and, together withthe Description of Embodiments, serve to explain principles discussedbelow. The drawings referred to in this brief description of thedrawings should not be understood as being drawn to scale unlessspecifically noted.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system utilizing applications and providing e-bookservices on a computing device configured for operation of an e-bookreading launch interface, in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic architecture of a computing device forconfiguring and launching an e-book reading interface, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates example embodiments for visually-biasedsensory-enhanced e-reading.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for operation in for configuring andlaunching an e-book reading interface on a computer device having atouchscreen display, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments include eye tracking while e-reading and providing visualenhancements based on the eye tracking In one embodiment, bookloverswill be able to select an immersive reading experience based on visualsensory enhancements. For example, when reaching the climax of a horrornovel (end of chapter or end of book) or when triggering a specific wordsuch as “murder” or “blood” a faint red light, or blotches of red lightcould begin pulsating behind the text.

In one embodiment, red blood or claw marks could appear in thebackground, in the margins of the page, or translucency. In a book aboutthe sea, the just-read word “ocean” could trigger blue illumination inthe background or subtle ripples behind the text like waves on thesurface of the sea. Embodiments include a multi-layered sensory-drivenreading experience for sight that includes an extensive electronicdepository of words that trigger corresponding images or other visualenhancements such as the examples above. The feature could also becustomizable, allowing users to program certain words to triggerparticular images or image types.

“E-books” are a form of electronic publication content stored in digitalformat in a computer non-transitory memory, viewable on a computingdevice having display functionality. An e-book can correspond to, ormimic, the paginated format of a printed publication for viewing, suchas provided by printed literary works (e.g., novels) and periodicals(e.g., magazines, comic books, journals, etc.). Optionally, some e-booksmay have chapter designations, as well as content that corresponds tographics or images (e.g., such as in the case of magazines or comicbooks). Multi-function devices, such as cellular-telephony or messagingdevices, can utilize specialized applications (e.g., specializede-reading application software) to view e-books in a format that mimicsthe paginated printed publication. Still further, some devices(sometimes labeled as “e-readers”) can display digitally-stored contentin a more reading-centric manner, while also providing, via a user inputinterface, the ability to manipulate that content for viewing, such asvia discrete pages arranged sequentially (that is, pagination)corresponding to an intended or natural reading progression, or flow, ofthe content therein.

An “e-reading device”, variously referred to herein as an electronicpersonal display or mobile computing device, can refer to any computingdevice that can display or otherwise render an e-book. By way ofexample, an e-reading device can include a mobile computing device onwhich an e-reading application can be executed to render content thatincludes e-books (e.g., comic books, magazines, etc.). Such mobilecomputing devices can include, for example, a multi-functional computingdevice for cellular telephony/messaging (e.g., feature phone or smartphone), a tablet computer device, an ultra-mobile computing device, or awearable computing device with a form factor of a wearable accessorydevice (e.g., smart watch or bracelet, glass-wear integrated with acomputing device, etc.). As another example, an e-reading device caninclude an e-reader device, such as a purpose-built device that isoptimized for an e-reading experience (e.g., with E-ink displays).

While conventional physical paper books typically include afixedly-configured table of contents page(s) intended to assist a useror observer to locate a desired portion or page of the book for reading,a digitally rendered e-book may be configured in other, more fluidarrangements that allow alternative ways for a user to convenientlyaccess a particular content portion or page of the e-book.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for utilizing applications and providinge-book services on a computing device configured for operation of ane-book reading launch interface, according to an embodiment. In anexample of FIG. 1, system 100 includes an electronic personal displaydevice, shown by way of example as an e-reading device 110, and anetwork service 121. The network service 121 can include multipleservers and other computing resources that provide various services inconnection with one or more applications that are installed on thee-reading device 110. For example, in one embodiment, the networkservice 121 may provide visual enhancements that correspond withe-reading content. By way of example, in one implementation, the networkservice 121 can provide e-book services that communicate with thee-reading device 110. The e-book services provided through networkservice 121 can, for example, include services in which e-books aresold, shared, downloaded and/or stored. More generally, the networkservice 121 can provide various other content services, includingcontent rendering services (e.g., streaming media) or other networkapplication environments or services.

The e-reading device 110 can correspond to any electronic personaldisplay device on which applications and application resources (e.g.,e-books, media files, documents) can be rendered and consumed. Forexample, the e-reading device 110 can correspond to a tablet or atelephony/messaging device (e.g., smart phone). In one implementation,for example, e-reading device 110 can run an e-reader application thatlinks the device to the network service 121 and enables e-books providedthrough the service to be viewed and consumed by way of e-reading. Inanother implementation, the e-reading device 110 can run a mediaplayback or streaming application that receives files or streaming datafrom the network service 121. By way of example, the e-reading device110 can be equipped with hardware and software to optimize certainapplication activities, such as reading electronic content (e.g.,e-books). For example, the e-reading device 110 can have a tablet-likeform factor, although variations are possible. In some cases, thee-reading device 110 can also have an E-ink display.

In additional detail, the network service 121 can include a deviceinterface 128, a content store 122 and a user account electronic library(e-library) 124 storing e-books or digital content items. Content store122 may be an online store for purchasing of digital content items fordownload therefrom onto a resident memory of e-reading device 110 and/oruser account e-library 124. User account e-library 124 associates thee-reading device 110 with a user having an account 123. The account 123can also be associated with ownership of, and/or accessibility to, oneor more digital content items stored in content store 122. In oneembodiment, the digital content items are e-books, and the content store122 is an online store having e-books for purchase or other licenseduse. The device interface 128 can handle requests from the e-readingdevice 110 with regard to services and functionality of the networkservice 121. The device interface 128 can utilize information providedwith user account 123 in order to enable services, such as purchasingand downloading of e-books into user account e-library 124, anddetermining what e-books and content items providable via content store122 are associated with, and accessible to, user account 123.Additionally, the device interface 128 can provide the e-reading device110 with access to the on-line content store 122. The device interface128 can handle input to identify content items (e.g., e-books), andfurther to link content items to the account 123 of the user.

Yet further, the user account e-library 124 can retain metadata forindividual accounts 123 to identify e-books or other digital contentitems that have been purchased or made available for consumption for agiven account. Thus information relating to e-books within user accounte-library 124 can include a metadata set in addition to substantivedigital text and image content portions. The metadata set can include,for example, information such as the graphic representation of thee-book, such as including artwork- or image-based representation of acounterpart physical paper book cover, as well as summary information,author information, title, short synapse or book review, publicationdate and language of the e-book, and book or volume series information.

The e-reading device 110 may be associated with the user account 123,and multiple devices may be associated with the same account. Asdescribed in greater detail below, e-reading device 110 can locallystore content items (e.g., e-books) that are purchased or otherwise madeavailable to the user of the e-reading device 110 as well as to archive,in user account 124, e-books and other digital content items that havebeen purchased for the user account 123, but are not necessarily storedin local resident memory of computing device 110.

With reference to an example of FIG. 1, e-reading device 110 can includea touchscreen display 116. In an embodiment, the display screen 116 istouch-sensitive, to process touch inputs including gestures (e.g.,swipes). For example, the display screen 116 may be integrated with oneor more touch sensors 138 to provide a touch-sensing region on a surfaceof the display screen 116. For some embodiments, the one or more touchsensors 138 may include capacitive sensors that can sense or detect ahuman body's capacitance as input. In the example of FIG. 1, thetouch-sensing region coincides with a substantial surface area, if notall, of the display screen 116.

In some embodiments, the e-reading device 110 includes features forproviding functionality related to displaying paginated content,including paginated content comprising an e-magazine or e-comic book.The e-reading device 110 can include page transitioning logic, whichenables the user to transition through paginated content. The e-readingdevice 110 can display pages of e-books, e-magazines and e-comics, andenable the user to transition from one page state to another. Inparticular, an e-book can provide content that is rendered sequentiallyin pages, and the e-book can display page states in the form of singlepages, multiple pages or portions thereof. Accordingly, a given pagestate can coincide with, for example, a single page, or two or morepages displayed at once. Page transitioning logic can operate to enablethe user to transition from a given page state to another page state Inthe specific example embodiment where a given page state coincides witha single page, for instance, each page state corresponding to one pageof the digitally constructed, ordered sequence of pages paginated tocomprise, in one embodiment, an e-book. In some implementations, thepage transitioning logic enables single page transitions, chaptertransitions, or cluster transitions (multiple pages at one time).

According to some embodiments, the e-reading device 110 includes displaysensor logic 135 to detect and interpret user input or user inputcommands made through interaction with the touch sensors 138. By way ofexample, display sensor logic 135 can detect a user making contact withthe touch-sensing region of the display screen 116, otherwise known as atouch event. More specifically, display sensor logic 135 can detect atouch events also referred to herein as a tap, an initial tap held incontact with display screen 116 for longer than some pre-definedthreshold duration of time (otherwise known as a “long press” or a “longtouch”), multiple taps performed either sequentially or generallysimultaneously, swiping gesture actions made through user interactionwith the touch sensing region of the display screen 116, or anycombination of these gesture actions. Although referred to herein as a“touch” or a tap, it should be appreciated that in some designimplementations, sufficient proximity to the screen surface, evenwithout actual physical contact, may register a “contact” or a “touchevent”. Furthermore, display sensor logic 135 can interpret suchinteractions in a variety of ways. For example, each such interactionmay be interpreted as a particular type of user input associated with arespective input command, execution of which may trigger a change instate of display 116.

In one implementation, display sensor logic 135 implements operations tomonitor for the user contacting or superimposing upon, using a finger,thumb or stylus, a surface of display 116 coinciding with a placement ofone or more touch sensor components 138, that is, a touch event, andalso detects and correlates a particular gesture action (e.g., pinching,swiping, tapping, etc.) as a particular type of input command. Displaysensor logic is also responsive to the user's eye contact with variouswords or text that may initiate presentation of visual enhancements thatcorrespond with e-reading content. Display sensor logic 135 may alsosense directionality of a user gesture action so as to distinguishbetween, for example, leftward, rightward, upward, downward and diagonalswipes along a surface portion of display screen 116 for the purpose ofassociating respective user input commands therewith.

E-library view (or interface) logic 120 provides an interface,displayable via display screen 116 of computing device 110, showingtitles in a user's e-library collection of e-books, or from a user'shome page in relation to an online content store 122 hosting e-books forcommercial sale and downloading therefrom. The e-library collection ofe-books may be hosted via a remotely located computer server deviceassociate with user account e-library 124, or at a locally residentwithin a memory at computing device 110. The e-library view logic 120can display iconic or other graphic representations of individuale-books in the user's e-library collection. For example, the e-libraryview logic 120 can use the metadata associated with the records of thee-books in the user's e-library account 124 to display lists, folders,or other virtual structures that include graphic representations and/orother identifiers of e-books in the user's collection. The metadata setcan include, for example, information such as the graphic representationof the e-book, such as including artwork- or image-based representationof a counterpart physical paper book cover, as well as summaryinformation, author information, title, short synapse or book review,publication date and language of the e-book, and book or volume seriesinformation. The user's collection can include e-books that the user hason the particular device 110 (e.g., locally stored e-books), as well ase-books that are not locally stored, but rather are stored or archivedat a remote computer server and associated with the user accounte-library 124.

Annotations interface logic module 125 provides an annotations andbookmarking scheme in conjunction with the interface rendered viae-library view logic 120, providing an annotations interface page(s) tobe deployed upon launch in lieu of a table of contents or a first pageof an e-book for reading. Launch of the e-book for reading, in oneembodiment, is triggered by a user enacting a touch event upon agraphical icon representing a specific e-book from an e-librarycollection, as will be described further in regard to FIGS. 2 and 3.

E-library view logic module 120 and annotations interface logic module125 can be implemented as software modules comprising instructionsstored in a memory of mobile computing device 110, as described infurther detail below with regard to FIG. 2.

In one or more embodiments of e-library view logic module 120, displaysensor logic 135 and annotations interface logic module 125 describedherein may be implemented using programmatic modules or components. Aprogrammatic module or component may include a program, a subroutine, aportion of a program, or a software or a hardware component capable ofperforming one or more stated tasks or functions in conjunction with oneor more processors. As used herein, a module or component can exist on ahardware component independently of other modules or components.Alternatively, a module or component can be a shared element or processof other modules, programs and hardware components.

Furthermore, the one or more embodiments of e-library view logic module120, display sensor logic 135 and annotations interface logic module 125described herein may be implemented through instructions that areexecutable by one or more processors. These instructions may be storedon a computer-readable non-transitory medium. In particular, thenumerous computing and communication devices shown with embodiments ofthe invention include processor(s) and various forms of computer memory,including volatile and non-volatile forms, storing data andinstructions. Examples of computer-readable mediums include permanentmemory storage devices, such as hard drives on personal computers orservers. Other examples of computer storage mediums include portablestorage units, flash or solid-state memory (such as included on manycell phones and consumer electronic devices) and magnetic memory.Computers, terminals, network enabled devices (e.g., mobile devices suchas cell phones and wearable computers) are all examples of machines anddevices that utilize processors, memory, and instructions stored oncomputer-readable mediums. Additionally, embodiments may be implementedin the form of computer-programs, or a computer usable storage mediumcapable of storing such a program.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic architecture of a computing device forconfiguring and launching an e-book reading interface, according to anembodiment.

E-reading device 110 further includes processor 210, a memory 250storing instructions and logic pertaining at least to display sensorlogic 135, e-library view logic module 120 and annotations interfacelogic 125.

Processor 210 can implement functionality using the logic andinstructions stored in memory 250. Additionally, in someimplementations, processor 210 communicates with the network service 121(see FIG. 1). More specifically, the e-reading device 110 can access thenetwork service 121 to receive various kinds of resources (e.g., digitalcontent items such as e-books, configuration files, accountinformation), as well as to provide information (e.g., user accountinformation, service requests etc.). For example, e-reading device 110can receive application resources, such as e-books or media files, thatthe user elects to purchase or otherwise download via the networkservice 121. The application resources that are downloaded onto thee-reading device 110 can be stored in memory 250.

In some implementations, display 116 can correspond to, for example, aliquid crystal display (LCD) or light emitting diode (LED) display thatilluminates in order to provide content generated from processor 210. Insome implementations, display 116 can be touch-sensitive. For example,in some embodiments, one or more of the touch sensor components 138 maybe integrated with display 116. In other embodiments, the touch sensorcomponents 138 may be provided (e.g., as a layer) above or below display116 such that individual touch sensor components 138 track differentregions of display 116. Further, in some variations, display 116 cancorrespond to an electronic paper type display, which mimicsconventional paper in the manner in which content is displayed. Examplesof such display technologies include electrophoretic displays,electro-wetting displays, and electro-fluidic displays.

Processor 210 can receive input from various sources, including touchsensor components 138, display 116, keystroke input 208 such as from avirtual or rendered keyboard, and other input mechanisms 299 (e.g.,buttons, mouse, microphone, etc.). With reference to examples describedherein, processor 210 can respond to input detected at the touch sensorcomponents 138. In some embodiments, processor 210 responds to inputsfrom the touch sensor components 138 in order to facilitate or enhancee-book activities such as generating e-book content on display 116,performing page transitions of the displayed e-book content, poweringoff the device 110 and/or display 116, activating a screen saver,launching or closing an application, and/or otherwise altering a stateof display 116.

In some embodiments, memory 250 may store display sensor logic 135 thatmonitors for user interactions detected through the touch sensorcomponents 138, and further processes the user interactions as aparticular input or type of input. In an alternative embodiment, displaysensor logic module 135 may be integrated with the touch sensorcomponents 138. For example, the touch sensor components 138 can beprovided as a modular component that includes integrated circuits orother hardware logic, and such resources can provide some or all ofdisplay sensor logic 135. In variations, some or all of display sensorlogic 135 may be implemented with processor 210 (which utilizesinstructions stored in memory 250), or with an alternative processingresource.

E-reading device 110 further includes wireless connectivity subsystem213, comprising a wireless communication receiver, a transmitter, andassociated components, such as one or more embedded or internal antennaelements, local oscillators, and a processing module such as a digitalsignal processor (DSP) (not shown). As will be apparent to those skilledin the field of communications, the particular design of wirelessconnectivity subsystem 213 depends on the communication network in whichcomputing device 110 is intended to operate, such as in accordance withWi-Fi, Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC) communicationprotocols, and the like.

E-library view logic module 120 can be implemented as a software module,comprising instructions stored in memory 250, on mobile computing device110. In one implementation, the local memory 250 can include records foreach e-book in the user's e-library account 124, each record includemetadata of the e-books therein. The user may have the content portionof select e-books archived remotely at a computer server cloud system,so as not to reside in the local memory 250, but be provided by thenetwork service 121 upon request or as needed. By way of example, thee-library view logic module 120 can display the e-books of a user'scollection in the form of a virtual bookshelf or bookcase featureshowing graphical icons representing the e-books. In such animplementation, the e-books are displayed as icons that include imagery,title information, etc. In a variation, the e-library view module 120can display representations of e-books in the user's collection asicons, or as icons with associated text. Still further, folders can beused to provide a panel view of the graphic representations (e.g., iconsand/or text) of the e-books in the user's e-library collection 124,corresponding to a side view of a bookshelf showing book spines withtitles printed thereon for identifying individual books.

Annotations interface logic 125 can be implemented as a software modulecomprising instructions stored in memory 250 of computing device 110Annotations interface logic module 125 provides a provides anannotations and bookmarking interface scheme in conjunction withe-library view logic 120, configuring an annotations interface page(s),which can be deployed upon a subsequent launch of an e-book for reading.In embodiment, upon e-book launch for reading, the annotations interfacepage can be presented in lieu of a typical table of contents or a firstsubstantive reading page. Launch of the e-book for reading may betriggered by a user enacting a touch event upon a graphical iconrepresenting a specific e-book from e-library collection 124 asdisplayed on display screen 116 via e-library view logic 120.

FIG. 3 illustrates embodiments of providing visually-biasedsensory-enhanced e-reading. Embodiments include eye tracking whilee-reading and providing visual enhancements based on the eye tracking Inone embodiment, sight is used to enhance the e-reading experience of auser and in one embodiment, visual enhancements are provided to the userthat are related to particular words or phrases on the page the user isreading. The visual enhancements may be specific to a particular story,genre, or e-reading setting.

In one embodiment, booklovers will be able to select an immersivereading experience based on visual sensory enhancements. For example,when reaching the climax of a horror novel (end of chapter or end ofbook) or when triggering a specific word such as “murder” or “blood” afaint red light, or blotches of red light could begin pulsating behindthe text. In another embodiment, when a user is reading a thriller ormystery book, a bullet hole 315 may appear as if a bullet had been shotthrough the e-reader.

FIG. 3 shows blood marks 304 that might drip down the side of thescreen. It is appreciated that the visual enhancement could be a stillimage, an animated image, a video or any visual enhancement. It isappreciated that the visual enhancements may be accesses as a storedfile and may be accessed from a remote location.

In one embodiment, a dramatic visual enhancement, such as a lightningbolt 310 may appear in response to what is happening in the storypresented on the e-reader. In one embodiment, the lightning 310 mayilluminate the background of the display, as if the lightning wereoccurring in the distance.

In one embodiment, the red blood 304 or claw marks could appear in thebackground, in the margins of the page, or translucency. In a book aboutthe sea, the just-read word “ocean” could trigger blue illumination inthe background or subtle ripples behind the text like waves on thesurface of the sea. Embodiments include a multi-layered sensory-drivenreading experience for sight that includes an extensive electronicdepository of words that trigger corresponding images or other visualenhancements such as the examples above. The feature could also becustomizable, allowing users to program certain words to triggerparticular images or image types.

Next with reference to FIG. 4, illustrated is a method for providingvisual enhancement to an E-reading experience, according to anembodiment. In describing the example of FIG. 4, reference will be madeto components such as described with regard to FIGS. 1 through 3 forpurposes of illustrating components for performing a step or sub-step asdescribed.

At step 402, method 400 includes tracking eye movement of a user of ane-reader. Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/533,700, filedon Nov. 5, 2014, entitled “OPERATING AN ELECTRONIC PERSONAL DISPLAYUSING EYE MOVEMENT TRACKING,” by Liu, having Attorney Docket No.KOBO-3013, and assigned to the assignee of the present application andhereby incorporated by reference in its entirety provides details fortracking eye movement according to embodiments described herein.

At step 404, method 400 includes providing a pre-defined visualindicator embedded with a portion of a story presented on the e-reader.In one embodiment, a library containing visual enhancements andcorresponding words is accessed when e-book content is loaded and when auser views particular words or phrases, corresponding visualenhancements from the library can be accessed and presented to the user.

At 406, method 400 includes in response to the eye movement of the userbeing correlated with the pre-defined visual indicator, displaying animage which is associated with the portion of the story presented on thee-reader. In one embodiment, the predefined visual indicator is a wordor phrase on the page that is displayed on the e-reading device.

Although illustrative embodiments have been described in detail hereinwith reference to the accompanying drawings, variations to specificembodiments and details are contemplated and encompassed by thisdisclosure. It is intended that the scope of embodiments describedherein be defined by claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, it iscontemplated that a particular feature described, either individually oras part of an embodiment, can be combined with other individuallydescribed features, or parts of other embodiments. Thus, absence ofdescribing combinations should not preclude the inventor(s) fromclaiming rights to such combinations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of synchronizing visual enhancement withe-reading content, the method comprising: tracking eye movement of auser of an e-reader; providing a pre-defined visual indicator embeddedwithin a portion of a story presented on the e-reader; and responsive tothe eye movement of the user being correlated with the pre-definedvisual indicator, displaying an image which is associated with theportion of the story presented on the e-reader.
 2. The method as recitedby claim 1, further comprising: providing a pre-defined backgroundvisual indicator embedded within a portion of a story presented on thee-reader; and responsive to the eye movement of the user beingcorrelated with the pre-defined background visual indicator,broadcasting a background image file which is associated with theportion of the story presented on the e-reader.
 3. The method as recitedby claim 1, further comprising: providing a pre-defined momentary visualindicator embedded within a portion of the story presented on thee-reader; and responsive to the eye movement of the user beingcorrelated with the pre-defined momentary visual indicator, broadcastinga momentary audio file associated with the portion of the storypresented on the e-reader.
 4. The method as recited by claim 1, furthercomprising: tracking the eye movement of the user at a line-by-linegranularity.
 5. The method as recited by claim 1, further comprising:tracking the eye movement of the user at a word-by-word granularity. 6.The method as recited by claim 1, further comprising: providing apre-defined new setting indicator embedded within a portion of a storypresented on the e-reader; and responsive to the eye movement of theuser being correlated with the pre-defined new setting indicator,ceasing broadcast of the image.
 7. The method as recited by claim 1,further comprising: providing a pre-defined fade out indicator embeddedwithin a portion of a story presented on the e-reader; and responsive tothe eye movement of the user being correlated with the pre-defined fadeout indicator, fading out the broadcast of the audio file.
 8. A systemthat synchronizes visual enhancement with e-reader content on ane-reader, the system comprising: a camera that tracks an eye movement ofa user of the e-reader; a gaze to pre-defined visual enhancementindicator region correlation logic correlates a gaze of the user with avisual enhancement file embedded within a portion of a story presentedon the e-reader; and an operation implementation responsive to gazelogic implements presentation of the visual enhancement file in responseto the gaze being correlated with the pre-defined visual enhancementindicator region.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the visualenhancement file embedded within the portion of the story is ananimation.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the visual enhancementfile embedded within the portion of the story is a picture file.
 11. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the camera tracks the eye movement of theuser of the e-reader at a line-by-line granularity.
 12. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the camera tracks the eye movement of the user of thee-reader at a word-by-word granularity.
 13. The system of claim 8,wherein the gaze to pre-defined visual enhancement indicator regioncorrelation logic correlates the gaze of the user with a new settingindicator region embedded within another portion of the story presentedon the e-reader; and the operation implementation responsive to gazelogic ceases the presentation of the visual enhancement file in responseto the gaze being correlated with the new setting indicator region. 14.The system of claim 8, wherein the gaze to pre-defined visualenhancement indicator region correlation logic correlates the gaze ofthe user with a pre-defined fade out indicator region embedded withinanother portion of the story presented on the e-reader; and theoperation implementation responsive to gaze logic fades out thepresentation of the visual enhancement file in response to the gazebeing correlated with the pre-defined fade out indicator region.
 15. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the visual enhancement file embedded within aportion of a story presented on the e-reader is a stand-alone add onfile for a pre-existing e-book file.
 16. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a hardware processor of a computing device, cause thehardware processor to perform a method of synchronizing visualenhancement with e-reading content, the method comprising: tracking eyemovement of a user of an e-reader with a camera of the e-reader;providing a pre-defined visual enhancement indicator embedded within aportion of the story presented on the e-reader; and responsive to theeye movement of the user being correlated with the pre-defined visualenhancement indicator, presenting a visual enhancement file associatedwith the portion of the story presented on the e-reader.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited by claim 16,further comprising: providing a pre-defined new setting indicatorembedded within a portion of a story presented on the e-reader; andresponsive to the eye movement of the user being correlated with thepre-defined new setting indicator, ceasing presentation of the visualenhancement file.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium as recited by claim 16, further comprising: providing apre-defined fade out indicator embedded within a portion of a storypresented on the e-reader; and responsive to the eye movement of theuser being correlated with the pre-defined fade out indicator, fadingout the presentation of the visual enhancement file.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited by claim 16,further comprising: tracking the eye movement of the user at aline-by-line granularity.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium as recited by claim 16, further comprising: tracking theeye movement of the user at a word-by-word granularity.